Sunlight Starbright
by J-Nine
Summary: I wanted to see the world. But . . . I never would have imagined . . . that my wish would be granted like this . . . Renesemee and Jacob's story.
1. Preface

**Sunlight Starbright**

_Preface_

All my life I've been protected, cherished, and loved. I never really understood any other emotion besides happiness. I got everything I ever wanted, spoiled rotten some would say, but I'm sure that I never took any of it for granted. My family, large in every sense of the word, always made sure that I was never anything . . . but happy.

Of course, I did have experiences with those other emotions from time to time, as anyone would. Sometimes I would get angry, or sad about something, but I never really understood what those feelings meant.

When I was around two years old (though I physically looked like a six or seven year old), my daddy gave me a music box for one of my multiple birthdays that year. It was beautiful; shimmering white with colors that danced all over the surface in the light, laced with gold vines and leaves. Set in the middle of the lid was a single letter, also made of gold, in a curvy, elegant cursive. Of course, it was an R, for my name. When I lifted the lid, a gorgeous ballerina popped out. It was rather cliché for a music box, but that never mattered to me, because that little porcelain figurine was one of the most beautiful creatures I had ever seen.

Her hair was long, with reddish hues running delicately through the dark curls that lay softly against the smooth, almost snow-white skin of her back. The dress she wore was simple, yet elegant against her lithe and flowing figure, pure white, only shades lighter than her skin. Though it was also made of the hard porcelain that made up the rest of her, I couldn't help imagining that it would be made of the softest material, if she were real. And unlike a ballerina that you would find in any other music box, this one didn't wear any slippers on her feet, though they were wrapped loosely in pale pink ribbons, which ran up her form to play with her arms and hands.

Daddy had said that the woman was supposed to be me, but I always thought she was way too pretty.

I had tried to mimic the pose she was in many times, but I never could seem to get it quite right. I couldn't get my arms to reach behind me in just the right way, nor could I stand on the tips of my toes like she could. Jacob Black, my best friend, would laugh at me for long periods of time as he watched me try to copy the moves of my twirling, porcelain friend. I never did mind that, since I loved his laugh so much.

And I loved that music box too . . . in fact, I loved it more than any other gift I had ever gotten, not only because it looked beautiful, but because it sounded beautiful too.

My daddy had written a song just for me, like he did for my momma back before they had me. I called it my Sunrise Song, since he would always play it for me when I woke up in the morning. It was light, and cheerful, and always put me in a good mood for the day, no matter what sort of dreams or nightmares I might have had while I was asleep.

It was that song that played every time I opened that music box, and every time I would be taken into a dream, watching that beautiful porcelain woman dance to the beautiful tunes of my Sunrise Song.

I broke her.

I had been . . . sad then, and I didn't understand what I was feeling. Jacob explained to me, or tried to anyway, that I was sad because something I loved so much was broken. It made some sense, but I never did get used to that feeling. It wasn't nice, and it hurt . . . I decided then that I never wanted to feel that way again.

Apparently Jake never wanted me to be sad again either, since he fixed my music box for me before the day ended.

That had been one of the very few times where I had felt anything other than happiness. My family had always been so doting, and caring with me, protecting me from anything and everything. I had lived in a controlled environment where it was almost impossible for me to be anything _but_ happy.

But that made me curious. Over the six years of my life, I hadn't seen much of the world. My family and I stayed in Forks for nearly four years (and how my grandpa was able to convince the people at the hospital of his age I never understood) so that I could be close to grandpa Swan and Jake. But of course, we eventually had to move, but we stayed close, only a few towns over so that I could still see my best friend regularly.

Again, it all made me curious. What did the rest of the world look like? People, places, animals, I wanted to see it!

I wanted to see the world.

But . . . I never would have imagined . . . that my wish would be granted like this . . .


	2. Chapter 1

**Sunlight Starbright**

_Chapter One_

Disclaimer: I forgot this last time, but here it is. I don't own anything Twilight. Easy as ramen (cause dang blammit pie is not EASY to make!).

A/N: The song that Edward plays is Kiss the Rain by Yiruma.

It's been a while now since we moved out here to Aberdeen; almost three years to be precise. I like it, since it's not much different from my hometown of Forks, which is only a couple towns away . . . but at the same time, it will never be Forks.

There were many things that I loved, and left back there . . . grandpa Swan was one of them. I miss him a lot, though I do get to see him from time to time. He's the one who has to make the trips out here to see us though, and he can't get away too often since he's the chief of police. That role comes with a lot of responsibility . . .

I miss his scent most of all . . . warm and comforting . . . the way and grandpa should smell. He was just like everyone else in my family: protective, loving and strong. Though we never did tell him the whole story, it didn't seem to bother him so much after a while, and he didn't seem to care much that obviously none of us were normal.

I suppose all the shock had been taken out of him that first time Jake had shown him his wolf form. I had only ever heard stories about that (when grandpa wasn't around of course).

Then there were the Quileutes, my second family. Sam, the leader of the wolf pack (or one of them anyway) was practically my second father. He watched over me as much as my real one did . . . And all my wolf brothers . . . their intendeds . . . Billy and the other council members . . . I missed them all so much since I _never_ see _them_ anymore . . .

But Jake . . . I miss him the most, even though he makes more time than grandpa to come out here to see me, almost every day in fact. Still . . . it had always been hard being away from him for long periods of time, more than anyone, and it's only been getting worse over the years. I can hardly go a few hours without hearing his voice any more . . . I always feel stupid when I think about it. Am I becoming obsessive or something? I mean, I know we're best friends and all, but should I really miss him _that_ much? To go so far as to even miss smell of his _sweat . . ._

I'm beginning to think there's something wrong with me. . .

"Augh." I groaned as I slumped my shoulders and stared into the slowly trickling water of the creek I found. I had come out here to the forests surrounding our 'crypt' (as Jacob liked to call it) to get some thinking space, because heaven knows I don't get any of that with daddy around.

A few crawfish appeared in the rocks below me and I watched them for a moment. Such small things they were . . .

I reached down to touch them, but like any creature relying on instincts to survive, they darted back into the rocks when my fingers grazed the surface of the water. I sighed and crossed my arms over my knees protectively, letting my thoughts wonder again.

A few moments later, I lifted my head as a familiar scent wafted to my nose. I spun around on my rock but found nothing in the forests for as far as I could see. With another dejected sigh, I turned back around to stare at the water again.

Yeah, there's definitely something wrong with me . . . now I'm starting to imagine his scent.

"Nessie." A deep, husky voice whispered in my ear. I screeched in fright and spun around again, my arm snapping out in reflex to attack the person that snuck up behind me.

Luckily, my attacker was no normal attacker.

A warm hand encircled my wrist gently, stopping my assault just inches from a very familiar, very smug dark skinned face. The blindingly white grin should have perturbed me, but in that moment I was only too glad to see him.

My Jacob.

That is, until I realized what I had almost done.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry Jake! I almost hit you!" I babbled apologetically, raising my other hand to touch his face gently. Just the thought of harming that face, the face of the person most important to me, was a thought that wrenched so much anguish from me that it almost knocked me over right there. My best friend, a member of my family as much as any of my aunts or uncles, and the other half to my soul . . . I never _ever_ wanted to hurt him.

Jacob just laughed (gosh how I love his laugh) and grabbed the wrist of that hand too, plucking it from his cheek to hold both my hands in front of him. His grin didn't evaporate or lose any of it smugness as his laughter slowly died.

"As if you could Twinkle-Toes." He taunted, using his derogative nickname for me (in reference to all those time I tried to copy my music box ballerina). He pulled me forward and lifted me from the rock easily to set me in his lap. He sat in the spot I was just in, watching the creek.

This was nothing new to me, as his lap had been strictly _my_ seat for the past seven years.

Yet for some reason, I felt my cheeks heating up just a little (even though my skin is already a little hotter than a normal full humans). Jacob didn't seem to notice as he hugged me snugly to his chest, which was clothed in a nicely fitting t-shirt, and kissed the top of my head like he always did.

My cheeks heated up just a little bit more as I wrapped my arms around him in return and rested my head against the wide expanse of his chest.

"I really am sorry though . . . I missed you Jake." I said softly, feeling slightly embarrassed.

Jacob laughed heartily and the sound reverberated through his chest in a lulling way. I almost sighed with the contentedness that welled up inside of me at hearing the sound and feeling his warmth beneath my cheek. I very nearly started purring when one of his large hands started petting my hair in long, soft strokes.

"I missed you too Nessie." He said easily, holding me just a little bit tighter. A sigh swept through his nose and ruffled my hair. I took a deep breath, taking in the scent of him; woodsy, slightly musky, thoroughly natural and totally Jacob. I could never mistake his scent.

Which reminded me.

"Hey, how did you sneak up on me like that?" I asked as I pulled away from his chest and looked up at him. Even sitting on his lap he was a good head above me, being the insanely huge monster that he is.

"I thought I smelled you, but I didn't see you anywhere." I said in a perplexed tone, tilting my head to the side a little.

Jacob laughed again and put his large hand on my head.

"Well, if I told you, then I'd have to come up with a new way of sneaking up on you, silly duck." And then he ruffled my hair, messing it up. I growled playfully and swatted at his arm (missing of course) and patted my hair back into place.

"Did you just call me silly duck?" I asked with raised eyebrows, question obvious on my face. Jacob chuckled and jumped off the rock to set me on my feet. His arms lingered around me before slowly letting go.

"Quil was watching some show with Claire this morning at my place. Somehow, I got roped into watching it too. Let's just leave it at that." He said as he nervously scratched the back of his head and took one of my hands.

"Let's start heading back. Esme and your dad were almost done with lunch when I got here." And he started pulling me back in the direction of my house.

Now there was something to look forward to. Once a week, while Jake was visiting, Esme and daddy made a special lunch for us. I say only once a week because I only ate normal food once a week. Over the past seven years I was able to develop a tolerance, and even a liking for the human food, but I still much preferred blood, even that of animals.

But since Jacob was still human, though special in more ways than one, he still needed to eat (and being a werewolf only made that appetite that much bigger). So, every Friday, a small feast would be prepared for us and I would gather my gusto to join him in consuming it.

Oddly enough, I never needed to eat too much in order for the meal to disappear.

My thoughts wandered as the feeling of Jakes hand around mine registered in my brain. It was a comfortable feeling, his warmth. Not many things felt warm to me, or to him for that matter, but in each other we could find a delicate balance . . .

But I could feel that balance beginning to teeter as these new emotions grew stronger in me. My cheeks warmed as I thought about it, which made it even worse. They never used to do that when Jake held my hand before! Is there really something wrong with me . . .? Am I sick or something?

Jake seemed to sense my slight distress as he slowed down to walk beside me, never letting go of my hand.

"You okay Ness?" he asked gently, brushing his thumb over the back of my hand. Small thrills raced up my spine at the sensation.

"Y-yes." I stuttered pathetically, and cursed myself for not being able to put up a better façade.

Of course, Jacob noticed that too. It always seemed like he was so in tuned to me, more than anyone else, that he could always tell when there was really something wrong with me.

Now was no different.

He came to a complete stop, and I didn't step much further before I did too. I kept my gaze trained on the path before me, not wanting him to see the redness that I could still feel in my cheeks. His hand tightened around mine as he forced me to turn towards him. He took my chin gently in his other hand, and applied pressure until I gave in and looked at him. His face was grave with seriousness and concern as his eyes searched mine. I could feel my cheeks reddening even more as the intensity in his dark depths hit me over and over with each sweep of his gaze. I didn't see his eyebrows lower as finally I looked away and to the side, not able to take the feelings that his stare evoked within me.

His grip on my chin loosened and disappeared as he placed his large palm on my cheek.

"Renesmee, what's wrong?" I flinched at the sound of my whole name. He rarely used it, and only did when he was totally serious.

I tried to gulp down the thickness in my throat as subtly as I could before I forced myself to look back at him, and plastered a large (though false) smile on my face.

"Really Jake, nothing's wrong. I'm just . . . hungry. Yeah, I'm hungry." I lied through my teeth; I was always bad at it. Jacob's eyebrows lowered another fraction, but he didn't say anything as his thumb stroked my cheek just under my eye.

"Let's go." I said, looking away again and pulling away from his touch. The concern in his eyes only intensified and a small tinge of hurt seeped in as well as I started jogging (not at a _human_ pace) back towards the house.

But I didn't notice.

I could smell the food before we ever got to the back yard. I trained my eyes on the doors that would lead to my salvation, my rescue from the overwhelming embarrassment I was feeling at that moment.

I had always thought it was a beautiful house, only a two story, unlike our home in Forks, but with just as much space. Built in a contemporary style, the house lacked the classic appeal of the old white one, but the beautiful dark color of the bricks and the glossy finish of the fine wood made this house beautiful in its entirely own way.

I slowed down to let Jacob catch up to me (he did job like I did apparently) and trudged up the path that lead to the veranda and into the house. I did look at Jacob once the entire time.

The food had already been finished and was spread out on the dining room table. Oddly, there didn't seem to be as much food as they would normally make, but I didn't pay much mind to it.

Daddy was in the sitting room, playing one of my favorite songs on his piano (you can check my A/N at the top if you want to listen to the song I had in mind when I wrote this). It didn't have a title; daddy never gave it one. In fact, he didn't really give any of his songs titles . . . the only ones that had any were the ones that I named.

The music cut off abruptly and not a moment later the musician appeared in the doorway of the dining room, eyebrows lowered in question. He was looking between me and Jacob, obviously scanning our minds for exactly what had happened while we were gone. I knew he didn't suspect that anything . . . wrong happened, he could just tell that I was upset by the contents of my thoughts. Knowing him, he probably thought Jacob did something . . .

Which wasn't exactly the untruth . . .

Suddenly his face cleared and his eyebrows rose as he looked at me, then slowly at Jacob again. I don't know what he saw in Jacob's mind, couldn't even guess really, since I couldn't see my friends face. A look of understanding crossing his features momentarily before he covered it up with a small smile directed at me.

I hadn't missed that.

"Welcome back smallheart." He greeted, using his only nickname (besides the ones everyone else used for me) for me. He crossed the room gracefully and pulled me into his stone cold arms, though the embrace wasn't any less comfortable because of it. I hugged him back and buried my face in his chest, knowing he could tell what I was thinking, and hoping he would not think I was a complete fool for not understanding my own feelings.

The stroke of his hand on my hair calmed my nerves and I softly breathed out a sigh as I pulled away and smiled a tiny smile up at him.

"Thanks dad."

He smiled a little wider at me, before looking back at Jacob. The smile lost only a fraction of its softness.

"Welcome back Jacob. Again." He said in a sincere tone.

"Yeah. Whatever." Jake replied in a surly tone.

For as long as I could remember my father and Jacob had always had an . . . interesting relationship. It was an odd sort of friendship, with a little bit of tension mixed in there, and a hint of camaraderie and admiration from both sides. I knew all of this because I had once asked Uncle Jasper just exactly how the two felt about each other. I had always heard the stories of how they used to hate each other with a passion, because of some kind of triangle relationship they had with my mother. I had never really seen any evidence of that though . . . maybe once or twice.

But Jacob's reply to daddy's greeting had me turning to look at him. He was already sitting in one of the seats at the table, pulling food onto his plate. I frowned at the back of his head, but he didn't seem to notice.

I looked up as my dad started chuckling softly, even more confused. Apparently he knew something that I didn't. I pulled away from him and gave him a look, making images of the past few moments pass through his mind with a sense of question.

My power had developed over time while I practiced with it. I could now force things into the minds of others without ever touching them, just as my father didn't need to touch someone to read their mind. It was a power similar to that of Zafrina from the Amazon coven. If I wanted, I could blind a person for as long as I wished with any thoughts from my own mind.

He chuckled again as he patted the top of my head and kissed my cheek.

"Don't worry about it darling." Was all he said before he left the room. No one ever joined us for these meals, since no one other than us needed them . . . well, Jacob anyway. I only stayed because . . . he's _Jacob, _I didn't want him to eat alone_._

I sighed softly as I watched my dad disappear back into the sitting room. The piano music began again, and I couldn't help smiling slightly.

I turned around slowly, nervously, and stood there for a moment watching him.

His large shoulders were hunched slightly and he was leaning on his left elbow, using his right hand to eat while his left hand was fisted in his cheek. I couldn't see his face from where I stood, but I could tell . . . he was upset.

Jacob didn't get upset a lot, at least, not with me.

"Jake? Are you okay?" I asked, walking to stand behind him.

He stuffed a croissant into his mouth and didn't answer me until it went down.

"Y-yes." He said with a clearly fake stutter. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as to why he did that. Was he making fun of the way I stuttered earlier or something?

"You're lying." I stated as I took a seat next to him. I could see his face now, it was twisted into an angry scowl, though there seemed to be a little bit of something else mixed in there as well.

"No I'm not." He said in a deceitfully calm tone, eyes glaring at the meat he was tearing apart. He popped a piece into his mouth, using only his hands.

My frown deepened as I felt myself starting to get a little angry. Why was he mad at me? I didn't do anything to him . . . I think.

"Yes you are. Tell me what's bothering you Jake." I said in a tone that didn't leave any room for argument.

He suddenly dropped the food he was eating back onto his plate with a loud clatter and pushed himself out of his chair. The sturdy wooden piece screeched against the hard floor and fell with an equally loud noise.

The look on his face . . . it was one I had never seen before. It was angry, _very_ angry.

"_You_ Ness! _You're_ bothering me!" He nearly shouted. My eyes widened as I noticed his hands beginning to shake.

He hadn't shaken like that for years now . . . It scared me a little, and I gasped as I leaned away from him.

That seemed to snap Jacob out of it as the anger on his face disappeared. It was replaced by a look of pain that didn't make any more sense to me than his anger did, but before I could reach out to him he was out the door. My family was already around the doorway, but they easily made room for him to get through without slowing down. They watched him go, the door never closing behind him.

I didn't see any of them looking at me with their wide, surprised golden eyes. I only saw the image of Jacob, running away from me, flashing through my mind over and over again.

I didn't realize that tears had started streaming down my cheeks.

Hands started to pat me and stroke me, and voices that I didn't really hear started murmuring comforting and questioning words to me. I vaguely noticed that my father's voice was not one of them. Of course it wasn't . . . he already knew the reason behind Jacob's reaction . . . thing is, I didn't.

And that made things all the worse.

I stood up, and no one tried to stop me. Without looking where I was going, I made my way slowly to my room, letting my tears drop to the floor quietly.

The last thing I heard before closing my door was my dad.

"That's why I told you we shouldn't make too much tonight . . ."

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A/N: Reviews are always appreciated.


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